Here we are almost in the middle of the new year, 2017. Now ask yourself, how much of 2017 is new and how much is the same old stuff (being polite) from 2016?
There's a new POTUS. That's for sure!
But what else is new?
For our businesses, Dalmatian Productions, Inc. and Cause & Origin, LLC, the first ten days of 2017 have been pretty good. Not super, not awesome, but pretty good. If you're a regular follower of this blog (and we don't know if you are, since no one ever signs in below to follow the blog), it's been quite a while since we've had any good news about our new TV show about the fire service, "CAUSE & ORIGIN." Thankfully, we do have some nice news to share....but I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself.
First things first: Our podcast, "5-Alarm Task Force," had a very successful launch! Between November and December, we had four excellent shows. Excellent? Am I calling them excellent? Yes, because we had five excellent guests who brought their "A-game" to their discussions.
We started with Capt. Joe DeVito (@joed911). Joe leads his troops for the FT. Myers Beach Fire Control District and his topic dealt with our attitudes; towards the job, the department, etc. I must add that Capt. Joe had been a friend and mentor since we joined Twitter and he was one of those who pushed me to consider doing a podcast. Thanks, Cap!
We were next joined by Lt. Grant Schwalbe who is with Estero Fire Rescue. He discussed two areas. The first deals with primary search; a step-by-step thought process with your search. Grant, along with his partner Paul Capo, have a company and website, "When Bad Things Happen." In it, they teach how to prevent those bad things and, if necessary, what to do when they happen. The "First & Ten" topic is about your requisite actions to perform in those first ten minutes.
Our next podcast featured Dan Kerrigan (@DanKerrigan) and Jim Moss (@JimMoss), two officers who are fully dedicated to firefighter fitness. Most of us are sick and tired of seeing anywhere between 40%-60% of LODD's being attributed to preventable health issues. Call the following a phrase or a motto, whatever, because it rings so true:
"We must not simply survive the fireground, we must be able to THRIVE on the fireground. It all starts with a foundation of functional fitness."
In the fourth show we were joined by Chief Dennis Rubin. Chief Rubin is well-known as one of the foremost instructors in the fire service. In this show, the Chief discussed the topic of leadership; from the snot-nosed, belly-crawling, nozzle-jockey (Editor's phrase) up the ranks to the Chief. Each of us has the seed of leadership in us. However, it's up to each of us to decided what we are going to do with that seed.
As you can see, it was a terrific start to our new idea. And we already have over a dozen new guests already booked for the new year. So keep your eye out for updates on Twitter or on our podcast site, http://bit.ly/5-AlarmTFPodcast.
"And now, to the rest of our story..."
January has indeed been supportive of our project. Just two weeks ago, we re-submitted our story to the Philadelphia Office of Film & Television. There had been a change in the leadership of the Philadelphia Fire Department and we wanted to make an attempt to gain their support. Both the director of the Film & TV Office, re-read our work and fell in love with it all over again. She took the liberty of sending it to a good friend who is not only a well known television producer, but also, a Philadelphia native. He answered her email quickly in a positive manner and told her that he was giving to his "team" to look at it.
Subsequently, we also send copies of the synopsis and script to the new commissioner of fire and the deputy commissioner. This week, we received positive comments from them. Why is this important? We've learned that when you want to make a "pitch" in Hollywood, whether for TV or film, the more detail you can provide, the better your chances are. Thus, we are able to provide a synopsis, a fully written script for the pilot episode and the fact that the locale where the story is to be based, is already "on board" with the project.
Finally, yesterday I receive an email and follow-up phone call from our partner who lives and works in Los Angeles. At the time of his email, he had just sent two excellent contacts over to another well-known television and motion picture producer, who was looking for a script for a network. That's good, right? Then when we called me, he advised that he just had another contact bring our material to another well known television actor and producer, who is also looking for a script.
Are we set? Are we in the money? No! Not by a long shot. However, these three opportunities are ones we have never been able to find before. We have tried and tried. Most people would have given up and let the dinghy sink. Not us. Of the four of us, we have all been or still are, first responders, most with the fire service. And that is why it is so important to us.
We'll keep you posted if and when there are new details. And we thank you for your interest and support.
Stay safe and let's make sure everyone goes home!
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